Sri Lanka’s Ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa Hospitalised Amid Conflicting Reports On Health

Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, 80, was reported to have been admitted to a hospital in Colombo on Monday, October 12, for urgent medical care. However, conflicting accounts emerged later in the day, with his team denying reports that he was seriously ill or receiving intensive care.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Rajapaksa’s political party, said he was admitted to hospital in the morning and was being kept under observation in the intensive care unit (ICU). Local media also reported that he had been taken to Nawaloka Private Hospital following a medical emergency at his residence in Colombo.

However, a subsequent report citing a source close to Rajapaksa said he had gone to a private hospital for a routine medical check-up, was in stable condition and had no serious health concerns. His media spokesperson also dismissed reports of serious illness. The exact circumstances of his hospital visit and his medical condition remained unclear in the conflicting accounts.

The development comes as Rajapaksa’s family faces multiple legal investigations in Sri Lanka. His wife, former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, was arrested on October 7 by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and remanded until October 13.

The case concerns allegations that 10 million Sri Lankan rupees obtained through a state-owned bank for a charitable initiative linked to the Siriliya Saviya organisation were misused. Her lawyers have disputed aspects of the allegations, while the investigation continues.

His elder son, Namal Rajapaksa, a parliamentarian and senior SLPP figure, is also in remand custody. A court rejected his bail application in September in a case involving an alleged 100 million rupee bribe linked to the procurement of Airbus aircraft for SriLankan Airlines. He was ordered to remain in custody until October 13 in that case.

Mahinda Rajapaksa served as president from 2005 to 2015 and later as prime minister. His presidency is closely associated with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, ending Sri Lanka’s nearly three-decade civil war.

The Rajapaksa family’s political fortunes declined sharply during the 2022 economic crisis, when mass protests forced his younger brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to leave the presidency. Current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the 2024 election on an anti-corruption platform and has pledged to investigate alleged wrongdoing involving previous administrations.